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Kansas Nerd Uses Net To Shake Up Political Fundraising

Posted by kdawson on from the will-it-still-work-once-everybody-is-doing-it dept.

ghostlibrary sends a note about Sean Tevis, an information architect in Kansas, who is running for state representative with the help of an xkcd lookalike cartoon and grassroots Net-based fundraising. Tevis had garnered more than 6,000 contributions, most of them small, from around the country, far out-fundraising his opponent. Major news outlets have picked up the story as a harbinger of 21st-century Net-based political campaigning. Reader ghostlibrary adds, "As a bonus, Tevis cites xkcd intentionally (rather than just ripping it off without crediting it) and, well, it's actually funny."

2 of 179 comments (clear)

  1. How about some links? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    How about some links to the guy?

    Tevis' website and the comic in question should get most people started.

  2. Thanks for all your comments by seantevis · · Score: 5, Informative

    We've been on a few sites, but making it onto /. is something special.

    Running for state rep means earning the trust of many voters in a few short months. Word of mouth goes a long way, but voters can't be reached effectively by email. The net's contributions make it possible for me to keep up a full time campaign at five nines while still keeping my day job.

    I decided to run because my current state rep needed to retire. The 15th district needed someone better. I want to show the politicians in Topeka just how much difference a geek can make.

    With your help I got their attention. Keep it up; we plan to show those people the power of technology. Keep checking the blog for updates and new comics.

    -Sean
    sean@seantevis.com